


home.

by haechieprint



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Best Friends, Bon Fire, Graduation is mentioned, Happy, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tears Are Shed, im sorry, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 01:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21486079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haechieprint/pseuds/haechieprint
Summary: Home is where the heart is.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Mark Lee & Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	home.

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo !! i am sorry for lack of writing i am busy busy busy and trying to work on several other Big projects. (stay tuned for those)
> 
> anyways please enjoy!!

The night is alive and young. Alive with the spirits of the boys who sit around a roaring fire. They fill the air with laughter, banter, and a whole lot of love; the cold air having little to no effect on their energy.

The fire in front of Donghyuck burns bright, shooting towards the sky as he toasts his marshmallow, watching as it burns underneath the red flames.

“Donghyuck!” Renjun’s sharp voice cuts through the air. “That’s not how you toast a marshmallow!”

Donghyuck lets out a small laugh, pulling the stick back, blowing on the fire on his now burnt marshmallow.

“What do you mean?” He grins. “I think it’s perfect.”

Jaemin who sits across the fire from him scoffs, “I can’t believe you just burn them. Your s’more would be so much better if you properly toasted it.”

Donghyuck, completely unbothered by his friends’ comments, smushes his marshmallow between two graham crackers watching as the gooey substance drips down the sides, sticking to his hands. The s'more is warm and cool as well as soft and hard at the same time and Donghyuck lets out a small moan of contentment tasting the sweet food.

“Not all of us have the patience to sit through that” Jisung points out in response to Jaemin from where he’s curled into Chenle, trying to get the most amount of the blanket that rests on top of them

Donghyuck couldn’t blame him. It was cold tonight and even with the extra warmth from the blanket on top of his legs and his boyfriend, Renjun, next to him he was still freezing.

“I swear we have this discussion every single time we make s’mores” Jeno groans as he walks out into the backyard, hot chocolate mugs in hand. “A s'more is a s’more no matter how the marshmallow is toasted.”

Donghyuck grins in victory, “Thank you Jeno. Your wise words once again, play in my favor.”

“We’ve always known that Donghyuck is Jeno’s favorite,” Renjun teases, wrapping an arm around Donghyuck’s waist to pull him closer so Donghyuck can lean against him more comfortably.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that” Donghyuck mutters, quietly watching as Jeno hands one of the mugs of hot chocolate to Jaemin, noting the blush that rises on both of their cheeks as their fingers brush together.

It was obvious that there were feelings between them and that they were reciprocated. Yet they were both still single, leaving them in the awkward phase of acting like a couple without being one.

“Is Mark coming?”

Donghyuck turns, glancing at Chenle who had spoken. He takes a moment to feel for his phone, glancing at his home screen to see that there were no new notifications.

Donghyuck frowns. “He said that he would and I hold him to that. He would never miss bonfire night.”

What they were doing was tradition. Every December, on the same night, the 7 friends would come together and toast marshmallows over a fire while talking about anything and everything.

Last year’s bonfire had been an emotional one with the knowledge that Mark would be graduating; moving away and leaving his friends back in high school. Back then, the friends had been scared of what the future would hold for them but they only became closer, trying to take any opportunity to hang out.

Tonight’s bonfire wouldn’t be any better than last year’s. Because instead of one friend moving away it would be the four ‘00 liners.

There was already a hidden edge of sadness in the air and Donghyuck took note of how hard Jisung was holding onto Chenle’s arm, fiddling with the frayed edges of the blanket in an attempt to calm himself down.

The youngest had taken Mark moving away hard. Donghyuck wasn’t sure how he would take four of them moving out for university.

“What if he’s busy with university and he can’t make it?” Jisung asks, his voice small.

“Jisung, he-” The rest of his sentence is cut off as someone steps out into the backyard.

“Am I late for the party?” Mark asks and even though Donghyuck can’t see all of his face in the light of the fire, he knows that a huge grin is plastered on it.

“Yes,” Jaemin says. “Matter of fact, you’re 15 minutes late Mark Lee.”

“My bad” He apologizes, sitting down in the chair next to Donghyuck as he shoots a quick text to someone before shoving his phone back in his pocket. “I got held up by something.”

“Does this _something_ have anything to do with the hickeys on your neck?” Jeno smirks and it’s then Donghyuck takes note of Mark’s disheveled appearance. Several deep red marks adorn the side of Mark’s neck and his hair is a complete utter mess, most likely from someone running their hands through it. If Mark’s face wasn’t red before, it was now.

“Jeez Mark” Renjun laughs, his chest vibrating against Donghyuck’s back as he speaks. “You really did not bother trying to hide that.”

“Neither did you!” Mark retorts, his eyes focused on the hickey on Renjun’s neck that Donghyuck had left a couple of hours earlier.

Donghyuck shrugs, “Oops. My bad.”

Next to them, Chenle makes a gagging sound. “Can we please stop talking about your guy’s love lives? I’m very happy for you Mark with your relationship with Yukhei but I do not need to know what you do with him behind closed doors.”

“And that goes for you too, Hyuck and Renjun” Chenle adds, shooting the two a pointed look.

“You sure that you aren’t just jealous cause you’re not in a relationship?” Jaemin asks teasingly, leaning over to the pinch the youngers cheek.

“You’re not in a relationship either” Chenle points out, slapping Jaemin’s hand away playfully. “Besides, I’m not looking for one right now.”

“Same” Jisung mutters. “We’re too young.”

Mark lets out a sigh as he leans back in his chair. “God I wish I was back in high school. College is fun but… I miss you guys more.”

The atmosphere changes immediately.

“Mark” Jeno says softly. “We miss you too but you even said it yourself last year, we’ll always be seven…”

“Even when we aren’t” Jaemin finishes.

Donghyuck bites his lip. He hadn’t expected the topic to shift so quickly yet here there were and he could barely prepare himself for the emotions that were about to hit.

“That motto has stuck with us since the moment you moved away Mark,” Renjun says, his voice firm. “And it’s going to continue to stick with us as we prepare to graduate. We’re each other’s homes and distance isn’t going to change that.”

Across the circle, Donghyuck watches as Chenle wraps an arm around Jisung’s shoulders, the younger’s eyes shining with tears.

“Sometimes I wish that we were all the same age” Chenle admits. “There wouldn’t be any of this leaving someone behind in high school. We could move on together.”

Donghyuck bites his lip as Chenle’s words sink in. How different would their lives be if they had all graduated together? Sure there would be fewer tears as each bird leaves the nest but Donghyuck couldn’t imagine his life any other way than the way it was now.

“No,” Donghyuck says shaking his head. “I know that it sucks how someone is always leaving but it’s also shaped all of us for the better and it’s brought us closer as friends because we know that we have to cherish these memories together.”

A heavy silence falls over the group as Donghyuck finishes, the only sound coming from the crackling fire. A sniffle sounds after a few moments as Jisung paws at his eyes trying to stop his tears.

“I’m going to be the last one left” Jisung cries, his voice heavy with tears. “I’m going to be stuck in high school by myself and…” He pauses as his emotions get the better of him.

“And I’m afraid you guys are going to forget me” and it’s then Jisung lets out a sob, covering his face as he buries himself deeper into Chenle’s side.

Mark and Jeno stand up immediately, rushing over to the younger, Renjun and Hyuck following behind.

Donghyuck notes how Jaemin walks inside the house most likely to get some water for Jisung. Jaemin always kept his distance when someone in the group got emotional. It’s not that he didn’t care, Jaemin just always like to keep the group energy positive so seeing someone he loved hurting didn’t help him at all.

“Jisung” Jeno says softly, wrapping his arms around the younger’s shaking frame. “We’re not going to forget you.”

“Yeah” Mark grins, moving out of Jaemin’s way as he hands Jisung a water bottle silently. “How could we forget the baby of the group?”

Donghyuck feels his own tears burning at the corner of his eyes as he sees the others in the same state. Each sob that Jisung lets out feels like a stab to the heart.

Donghyuck crouches down in front of Jisung, his heart aching when Jisung’s tear-stained face meets his.

“Sungie, we may be moving forward in our lives but that doesn’t mean we’re moving out of yours,” He says gently, a small smile on his face. “As Renjun said earlier, you are our home and we are yours. We’re always going to find each other no matter what. You just need to trust us.”

Jisung bites his lip, nodding at Donghyuck’s words before Chenle breaks the dull atmosphere.

“Group hug!”

They all collectively let out a laugh at Chenle’s burst of energy. Not a second later, they’re a mess of limbs as they pile on top of each other, forming a hug. Their laughter fills the air and for a moment, Donghyuck can forget about graduating. Because at this moment, with his best friends surrounding him, Donghyuck feels home.

That’s all he could ever ask for.

* * *

_Hope we always feel like...home._

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments are appreciated !! i hope you enjoyed !!
> 
> here's my socials:
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/honeyyhyuckies)
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/honeyyhyuckies)


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